Mercedes Benz Is Abandoning Diesel Engines

Last we heard about Mercedes-Benz made diesel cars, it was last year when they dropped their plans to have them in the United States. While low sales certainly played a part, this was also due to the Volkswagen scandal of falsified emissions tests happening at the time. while this originally left things open for a resurgence, that's beginning to look pretty unlikely.

Mercedes' Research and Development Head, Ola Kallenius spoke at this year's Detroit Auto Show. Kallenius said that even though they are capable of creating a diesel vehicle that can mean American emission standards, that there are no current plans to. They attribute this decision to lack of consumer interest.

“The diesel doesn’t fit into our portfolio in the U.S.,”

Kallenius stated that diesel cars counted for less than 3% of the automaker's car sales. The lack of interest is easy to see, so this decision is by no means a surprise. Though this is certainly unfortunate news for anyone who prefers the level of torque and the fuel efficiency that the fuel source provides.

This decision pertains purely towards passenger vehicles, however. Commercial vehicles remain strong with the popularity of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van, and the manufacturer intends to keep its diesel engine in production.